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Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Conflict = Drama = Popularity

Watching the news channels of late got me thinking about the style in which most of them function. They find a conflict or a contentious issue and then they get a panel to perform a drama arguing about that issue and that creates a spicy mixture of entertainment. Or atleast that is what they think.

None of these discussions ever result in anything concrete being decided or any commitments made or any meaningful insight into the real problem. There is only mud slinging that goes on and then the moderator runs out of time and closes the discussion leaving you hanging.

Very rarely does one find a clear articulation of the pros and cons of a particular decision and reporting news the way it is to be reported - the truth and to the point. There is a lot of dramatization created and this ends up putting ideas into the viewers mind that did not exist in the first place. This can sometimes have serious consequences and unless news channels start acting responsible and are held accountable for what they report, I do not see an end to this style of reporting.